Fresno FC steps onto the MLS stage in next round of U.S. Open Cup

Fans of all ages welcome Fresno FC for its first game in downtown Fresno

Fans of soccer watched the new Fresno Football Club play Las Vegas Lights FC at Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. ,Fresno FC lost to Las Vegas 3-2 under threatening rain clouds Saturday night,

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Fans of soccer watched the new Fresno Football Club play Las Vegas Lights FC at Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. ,Fresno FC lost to Las Vegas 3-2 under threatening rain clouds Saturday night,

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Fresno FC, the city's new professional soccer team, is heading to a big stage.

The Foxes have reached the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which earns them a date with a Major League Soccer opponent. And Fresno is headed to play MLS expansion team Los Angeles FC at its palatial new home, Banc of California Stadium.

The match is set for 7 p.m. June 6.

Fresno FC has won two games in the tournament, including Wednesday night's 2-1 victory at Sporting FC Arizona.

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The Open Cup tournament, in its 105th year, is the only high-profile competition in American team sports where amateur sides have the opportunity to face professionals in meaningful competition.

The tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer and has crowned a champion annually since 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor U.S. soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

It's an eight-round event with the 20 U.S.-based MLS teams entering in the fourth round.

USL clubs like Fresno joined in the second round, where Fresno beat Orange County FC 2-0 on May 16 in Clovis.

Teams work the Open Cup schedule into their regular league schedule. For the Foxes, that means two games before their showdown with the MLS team, Saturday at Orange County SC and June 2 at Chukchansi Park against Seattle Sounders 2.

This won't be the first time a Fresno team has faced an MLS side in the tournament.

Back in 2003, the amateur Fresno Fuego of the Premier Development League in their inaugural season reached the fourth round and a showdown with the LA Galaxy. The Fuego lost 3-1 at the Home Depot Center in Carson.